Last updated on May 14th, 2022 at 11:19 pm

It’s April and the sandal season is getting just a little closer.  We’re also at the point where we could get a warm day at a moment’s notice, so we need to be prepared.  So let’s talk about DIY Pedicures and how to pamper your feet at home!

I do like to go to a salon for a pedicure and I am hoping to be back this summer.  But, over the last year I’ve taken some time to learn how to give myself a pretty good pedicure. By investing in a few tools and lotions, I’m getting my feet sandal ready.  Let me share with you how I plan to get there.

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Step 1:  So, as you can see, my feet are showing the effects of “winter neglect”.  I usually give them a month off of polish in January to give them a rest. I will start polishing them again in February to make me feel better, but I don’t always go through all the extra steps of DIY pedicures.  They are covered in socks, slippers or shoes, so why bother? But now is the time!

I did find a new product this winter from Footnanny which is their “Rescue Buffer” which is used dry to “buff to smooth feet”.  This was new to me, but it seemed to work well.  My calluses definitely needed a head start.

Step 2:  Remove your polish.  You can actually do this first thing, I just like to dry buff them first.  There are so many polish removers out there, so you can really use anything you like.  I tend to lean towards Cutex products, just because they’ve been around for so long.

Step 3:  Soak your feet in soapy water. As you can see from the picture, I do have a foot bath, but you don’t have to invest in one — your bathtub will do just fine.  I got my foot bath as a gift years ago and I still like to pull it out and use it from time to time. It’s a fun tool for DIY pedicures. I did find one similar to Homedics one I own on amazon.com for $24.99.

Soak your feet for at least 15 minutes to make sure the skin is soft enough to buff and the toenails are soft enough to clip.  Dawn dish detergent is actually my go-to.  I’ll just put a little drop in the water to get some suds. 

Step 4:  After the 15 minutes and while your feet are still soaking, buff your feet with a pumice stone, or your buffer of choice.  I recently found this 4-in-1 tool that works well.  Since this was my first pedicure in quite a while, my feet needed some extra help.  So I used several sides of the tool to remove the dead skin and calluses. I will let one foot soak while I buff the other foot and then switch out.  That helps to remove all the “callus dust” (is that a word?) from your feet. Towel dry your feet and step out of the tub.

Step 5:  Clip/file your tonsils and trim your cuticles.  I like to do this immediately after soaking my feet since my nails and cuticles are still soft.  I usually clip my nails first, leaving them just a little long so that I can file them to the shape that I want.  For the cuticle trimming, I don’t do too much, except maybe on my pinkie toe, which seems to be the worst.  You can even just use an orange stick to push them back.

Step 6:  Lather your feet in lotion, but be careful.  I say be careful because you don’t want to put on a lot of lotion and then walk around on a slippery bathroom floor – we don’t recommend that.  What I do is sit on the floor to add lotion and then put on my pedicure flip flops and toe separators before I stand up. Speaking of pedicure flip flops, I love having these for my DIY pedicures.  You keep your feet off the floor and you don’t have to worry about getting polish on them.

While looking for a link for my pedicure flip flops, I did find these on amazon.com for $26.95 and they look amazing. I just placed my order for them! They have the toe separators built in and they look much more comfortable.

I tried two different lotions that I picked up new and used one on each foot to compare.  I already love Soap & Glory’s “Hand Food”, so when I saw their “Heel Genius”,  I had to try it.  The Footnanny products I found over the holidays so I tried their Eucalyptus Foot Cream.  Footnanny products have been one of Oprah’s Favorite Things several times. Both products worked well.  The Heel Genius seemed to be a little thicker while the Footnanny cream had a cooling effect.  Again, if you don’t want to invest in specific foot creams, any lotion you have on hand can work just fine.

Step 7: Use your nail polish remover one more time.  You may have tried to avoid it, but you probably got some lotion on your toenails, which will definitely affect how your polish adheres to your nails.  So do one more quick swipe to make sure they are clear from lotion.

Step 8:  It’s finally time to add some polish.  I do like to use a base coat when I do my nails because I usually do my toes only every 3-4 weeks.  I like a barrier when the polish is going to be on there that long and I just do one coat.

For my nail color, I will do two coats, letting them dry for a few minutes in between coats. Essie “Infinity Cool” was my color of choice today.  I like blue polishes this time of year because I’m still wearing jeans a lot and I like how they look together – but that could be too matchy-matchy for you.

I do add a top coat, again, because I want the pedicure to last for 3-4 weeks.  But before I add that, I will do a little touch up on my “oopsies” while polishing.  I really like these precision tips swaps from Q-Tips.  Yes, you could use regular Q-Tips but the cotton on these seems to be spun just a little tighter, so you don’t get those flyaways that get stuck to your polish (I know you know what I mean!)  For the top coat, I like this “Mega Shine” from Sally Hansen.  I’ve been using it for years on both my fingernails and toenails.

Step 9:  Clean your tools when you’re done.  I know I sometimes want to skip this step but it really needs to be done. I will use just some soapy water in the sink to clean them and I will also use an alcohol swab for my clippers and metal nail files.  You’ll be glad that you did the next time you go to use them.

I hope this helps you with your own DIY pedicures this season.  And if you want some similar advice on the best DIY manicure, check out Jen’s post!